Blacksite Demo Available on XBLM. Just the Title, Not the Game Too...

Xbox 360 owners will be very, very happy to hear that a free demo of Midway's upcoming Blacksite: Area 51 is available for grabs up on Xbox Live Marketplace and they will become sad the instant they try downloading it. Why? Beats us, there's an error or something. Microsoft is probably on the issue, but check this: The Orange Box, containing a Half Life 2: Episode 2 demo is also "out of order," so to speak. - error code: 80153005. So it pretty much looks like it's a LIVE issue and not something wrong with the Blacksite demo.

The demo, according to Midway, contains two levels from the game's single-player campaign, taking gamers through the Rachel, NV town square and courthouse, and placing players in the gunner's seat during a helicopter escort mission through the desert canyons of Nevada. So, no online. That wouldn't be too bad, HAD THE DEMO ACTUALLY BEEN AVAILABLE!!! Eh...

However, it seems that not everyone is experiencing the issue. User reports up on Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson show that only a handful of Xbox 360 owners are having trouble with downloading the Backsite demo.

Anyway, given the circumstances, we have no way of revealing any gameplay details on Blacksite, other than from feature lists officially released by Midway over the course of the development. As such, here's what the developers have revealed about the game so far:

Blacksite is a fast-paced action first-person shooter allowing gamers a chance to direct their living, breathing squad mates with a context-sensitive "One-Button Squad Command" control. Destructible environments can be reduced to rubble, creating interactive cover points that can be blown away with enough firepower.

Developed by Midway Studios (Austin), the game uses a fully-customized version of Epic's famous Unreal Engine 3.0, combining the latest technology and game design with an illuminating, politically-inspired storyline. The full game promises to deliver numerous multiplayer modes including online-co-op, as well as a ton of vehicles.

Blacksite: Area 51 will be available in European stores on November 30th, for the Xbox 360 and PC and in Q1 2008 for PlayStation 3.